Gravity
by Xactly My Type
Summary: What happens when the stress of the oncoming war eats away at Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy? Two people who are so desperate to forget everything going on around them, even if it's only for a little while. AU, set in 6th year, Smut. Disclaimer - I OWN NOTHING
1. Intro

He walked up the stone stair case, his feet falling heavily and clumsily. Every muscles in his body aching. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. The only thing keeping him awake was the sound of his own foot steps reverberating, bouncing around on the surrounding stone.

He couldn't wait to collapse on his bed, he welcomed the engulfing darkness of a heavy sleep that was weighing down his body. He continued his march in a mindless trance, he hadn't even realized he pushed the heavy door to the shared bedroom open until it creaked, the way things due in an old castle. None of the other boys stirred, he wouldn't care if he had waken them all up anyway.

He didn't even bother to strip off his clothes as he made his way to the enticing site of his green and silver sheets and he just barely managed to kick off his shoes before tumbling backwards, landing with a soft, comforting thud. Somehow he had managed to adjust his fall accordingly and his head landed perfectly onto his waiting pillow.

He had been coming back later and later on nights like this. Strands of his white blonde hair stuck to his forehead with dried sweat, annoyingly close to his eyes. He didn't bother swiping them away. Moonlight seeped in from a window whose curtains were skewed, the irritating invading light made him restless, but his heavy lidded eyes slid shut as he turned his head away and his cheek pressed against the cool fabric of his pillow cover.

He inhaled deeply wanting nothing more to forget the night's events. But there it was, invading his senses, lingering, surrounding him, stuck to every inch of his clothing, of his skin. That scent, of warm honey and tea leaves and sunshine. It haunted him, how it clung to him, following him, never letting him forget, never letting him forgive himself. His eyes flew open and he knew there would be no sleep tonight.

He was too tired to stop his wandering thoughts as he tried to think back to the exact moment he had gotten himself into this mess.

It was only a few weeks after school began again. Still early October, but the air was becoming crisp in the night. The war was coming. He was getting more and more pressure put on him by his family and peers. He was to follow in his father's footsteps and become the dark lord's obedient, faithful, unquestioning servant. To be used and tossed away as Voldemort pleased.

He has been groomed for this his whole life, but the weight was finally pulling him down. Now, he looked for any excuse to get away from the never ending talk of attack and battles and strategies. He had grown tired of his fellow Slytherins talk of comradery, it seemed like every night in the common room they talked about the same things, the nights began to blur together and were becoming rather boring.

Tonight was no different. Here he was, surrounded by the people who claimed to be his friends, Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, all chatting it up about taking on the dark mark like it was every wizards dream. It made him want to grab each of them by the shoulders and shake them senseless. They were lambs, too willing to board the truck taking them to the slaughter house. It made his stomach flip.

He pushed himself out of the lounge chair he had claimed and left. Their talking became hushed whispers and their eyes followed him, but no one would question where the prince of Slytherin was off to, even if it was near midnight.

Draco didn't much worry about getting caught out after curfew, he knew Snape or his father would handle any repercussion from annoying, nosey professors that would ensue. Little did he know, he was going to be dealt a fate far worse than what any professor could dish out to him.


	2. Chapter 1

He had been wandering the halls for what felt like hours, left alone with his thoughts bouncing around in his skull unbearably, threatening to crack it in two. He focused on the scuffing of his shoes against the corridor floor, he was working on mapping out every inch of the castle trying to occupy his busy mind.

He was wandering farther down halls he didn't even recognize, doing anything to keep himself from having to return to the dormitory. He carefully avoided the passages often traveled by professors on watch and had barely noticed the annoying, stuck up, know it all, wild haired Gryffindor girl until he practically tripped over her.

He stopped suddenly when he caught sight of her, his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets. She was leaning with her back up against the stone wall, facing towards a tall window that let in the silver moonlight, illuminating her figure perfectly. She had her head tilted down as her gaze was trained on the ground. Draco wondered if she had seen him or not. He contemplated turning around and leaving, pretending he had never seen her here at all.

Her mass of curls were surrounding her face, framing it, as the pale light shone against it, making it gleam in the surrounding darkness. The light made her look pale, but her skin was smooth, her lips set in a manner that made her seem indifferent to everything around her. It made her look like a carving of a stone angel.

Suddenly, he had the urge to walk over to her, he wanted to trace her bottom lip with his finger, to memorize its texture, to see if it felt like the cool, flawless marble it looked like. He recoiled at his own thoughts, blaming his tired mind. Surely, if he had half the sense he did when he was well rested, he would never think of doing something so disgusting. Draco just sneered at Hermione viciously.

"Perfect." He said, his voice penetrating through the cool air, almost sounding too loud as your voice often does when you know everyone else around you is sleeping.

"Running into a sodding Gryffindor, just my luck. Going to run and snitch on me now, are you?" He was looking for a fight and she was the perfect candidate.

"Leave me be, Malfoy." She said on an exhale. She had none of the usual sharpness in her tone, there was no inclination that she was up for their usual banter, she didn't even bother to look up at him when she spoke. His heart sunk at the thought. But he quickly rebounded Since when had the occasional quarrel with the mudblood witch become something he looked forward to...?

"As if I'd waste my time with you, Granger." He snarled, his lips twisting his sneer deeper, but it too was halfhearted and lacked its enthusiasm, he was so damn tired.

Draco allowed himself a better look at her then, his brain to heavy with sleep to feign his normal extreme indifference towards her, normally he wouldn't spare her a passing glance.

Dark circles around both eyes left her face looking hollow in the dim light. Just looking at her sagging shoulder made him want to curl up into a ball on the floor and give into his exhaustion even more. Hermione looked as though the only thing keeping her upright was the wall itself, she felt that way as well.

She brought her gaze up then, locking eyes, holding them across the darkness. The act itself should have been uncomfortable, here they were, enemies. On two different sides of the battle field simply waiting for the signal to let the first shot be fired and they both knew it. Instead, she felt nothing, not even the usual annoyance he evoked, towards her blonde haired antagonist.

The moonlight caught and pooled in her eyes, making Draco unable to look away. His breath caught in his throat. Her hair was tousled and he had an annoying inkling to swat the obscene curls out of her face. He stood like that for a while, wondering if he could remember a time he had ever seen the Gryffindor this quiet.

The silence didn't last too long however, It was Hermione that finally spoke.

She scoffed harshly, her throat cracking, as if she hadn't used her voice for a hundred years. "Shouldn't you be running off to kiss daddy's arse Malfoy?"

Hermione knew, even before it passed through her lips, that she should not say it, but she couldn't stand being near Malfoy and not fighting. The companionable silence was threatening to break her down. She watched his expression change, watched the sleep flee suddenly from his eyes and she saw the flash of anger and spite that flew across his features, hardening them.

In an instant he was there, in front of her. He had moved so fast Hermione had barely seen the movement at all, like a snake striking. Suddenly. she was upright, Draco's solid body creating a cage, trapping her against the stone. His hands, on either side of her head pressed hard against the stone wall. He was inches from her face, their noses almost touching. Draco was breathing heavy, almost panting with rage.

She drew a sharp intake of air, nearly holding her breath waiting for his next move. The hand closest to where her wand was concealed in her robes itched and was ready and waiting. Hermione had expected him to scream at her, to yell in her face and she was ready to yell back. She silently begged him to lash out at her, so she had an excuse to shout at him until her voice was hoarse.

On the surface Hermione Granger was staying composed, for Ron, for Harry, for Ginny, for everyone. She was the calm that anchored everyone when they were agitated and on edge. But it was wearing her down, keeping up appearances, keeping her studies in order, trying to talk the boys out of anything bloody idiotic. She wanted to break, she wanted to crack and splinter. She wanted the facade to come tumbling down so she could emerge and show what ridiculous mess she actually was.

What Draco did instead was much more frightening. She had to steady her own breathing to hear him, her heart beat thrummed in her ears. His voice carried on the still air between them, barely a whisp of breath between his lips.

"Don't you ever talk about my father, you filthy mudblood." He spat the words at her, sharp as knives.

She flinched at the sound of that word, more out of habit than anything else. It should have hurt, Hermione thought. But how many times could she hear the same thing, the same insult and still really be affected by it? Her heart had become calloused, people like Malfoy, their opinions didn't bother her anymore.

Draco's heart dropped when he saw her recoil at his words, but he didn't care, his blood was boiling. His skin prickled with the intense desire to hex the pompous Gryffindor. His teeth ground together, as he tried to rein in his temper, his jaw ached from the effort.

Hermione squared her shoulders, refusing to let him see her be effected by his ignorance. She stared Draco Malfoy straight in the eyes, she didn't back down from his silver glare. Draco couldn't help the flames of jealousy that started in his stomach. She was so brave and confident, never faltering, even now when glowering into the face of the enemy.

Then he noticed it again. How her skin seemed to call the moonlight to it. How it made the creeping blush across her cheeks look so inviting, it made him want to push his cheek against hers to feel the heat radiating off of them.

It caught in her eyes and hair and made them shimmer like a lake in the day. And suddenly his skin was prickling for another reason, suddenly he was all too aware of their proximity, of how he could feel her chest heave against his, how he could feel the wisps of her breath, stir his hair across his forehead. He moved his gaze down to her mouth, it was slightly open and those lips….

_Oh merlin those lips_ he thought as he let out a huff of breath.

They looked so comforting, so soft. A deep ache formed in his chest as he silently pleaded for her arms, that lay limp at her sides, to come up and reach around him and pull him in. He could almost feel her hips flush against his. It sent heat up his legs, a tight coil in his stomach beginning to form.

He was so, so tired. His eyes stung with sleep. All he wanted was to forget about his family, his duty and this bloody war. He wanted to run, he wanted to loose himself in something, in anything.

Hermione could see the countless emotions play across Malfoys face. She saw when his gaze slipped from her eyes to her mouth. It made her breathing come harder and her stomach tighten. She clenched the fists at her sides until her knuckles turned white, but she did not move, she would not show weakness to him.

She could feel him shift, moving closer to her, his chest pushing against hers, his arms roped with lean muscled on either side of her head. Hermione took in the sharp features of his face and for a brief moment thought she could see how any woman might find him attractive.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she took in a rasping breath, willing her body to calm, preparing to throw another insult out at the infuriating Slytherin. Instead Hermione felt the stroke of his nose against hers. It sent shudders racking down her body. Her breath hitched in her throat as she looked up into the silver eyes out of shock.

He couldn't tell you now, even to this day, how or why it happened. But without even intending to, and without warning his nose stroked along hers. Doe eyed, she looked up at him in wonder, her mouth parted slightly. He could taste her breath, it sent a tingle down his spine. He looked back at her with lidded eyes before his lips were grazing hers. The blush from Hermione's face making them warm, he wanted to memorize the taste of them.

_This is what sunshine tastes like_

Every muscle in Draco's body was exhausted, but the soft contact of her lips made his body jump with electricity. He felt fire ignite in his blood and pulse through his veins and all he wanted was more. Involuntarily he groaned as he felt her gasp, heat pooling relentlessly in his lower stomach. He shifted as his trousers became uncomfortably restricting.

Draco's soft lips were against hers, so lightly she thought she might be imagining it. But heat pooled in her stomach as her breath stopped all together. She felt as though he was stealing the air from her lungs. Heat danced across her skin, throbbing with want to feel his long, slender hands dance across her flushed skin. colors danced across her eye lids.

Heat burst across his face and down his neck almost violently. Draco pushed his arms harder against the wall to keep them from shaking.

Hermione could taste the desperation and need on his lips and for a moment, let herself savor it.

His head was swimming. Hermione's lungs burned with the need for air, Draco could feel her chest rise against his and it made a tight knot coil in his stomach. He wanted to dip his head into the crook of her shoulder, to really taste her. To worship her swelling breasts, but he was consumed with feeling of his lips against hers.

Draco felt her relax against him. She moaned in content and it vibrated through him, arousing every one of his nerves, filling his ears and all he could think about was coaxing more sweet noises from her. He wanted to hear her breath in his ear, to make her plead and beg for him with his teeth against her pulse and his body wrapped around her. He needed it.

Hermione willed her body back under her control, but couldn't stop the mewling he evoked from deep within her. He felt _so God damn good._

Not even Viktor had made her body respond like this. Hermione felt like she was on fire, she could feel her core throb with want. Her thighs rubbed together involuntarily, trying to find any kind of friction for release.

When the need for air became to great they broke apart. Hermione could feel Malfoy's forehead pressed against hers, holding him steady. Neither of them dared to open their eyes. They both panted heavily, their hearts racing, as Hermione stopped to feel their breaths mingling in the dark.

She brought her hand up to tangle it in his blonde hair. To take all he had to offer. Before she could lose herself completely, Hermione's brain kick started on…

_What the bloody hell are you doing Granger…_

Draco's head was wretched to the side. Gone was the addicting sound of Grangers moan, it was replaced with a loud ringing of the slap she had promptly delivered. He stepped back still with his gaze to the side, not watching as she ran down the corridor, away from him. As he listened to her footsteps fast retreating he knew he had made a mistake.

He could feel the red mark from her palm searing his skin. She had left his entire body buzzing. He licked his lips and tasted her and groaned wishing he could chase after her.

Draco shook his head. _Don't be a stupid git_

He turned on his heels and headed back towards the dungeons, towards his dormitory to his waiting bed. No sleep would come to him that night as he tossed and turned, his thoughts consumed with messy curls and the taste of tea that lingered on his lips.

Reviews are always appreciated. Let me know what you guys think.


	3. Chapter 2

In case you haven't noticed, this is not a story that will be updated at regular intervals. Sadly, life and myjob come before writing :(

However, I am trying to stay ahead of the game and get chapters out as soon as I can to you guys, so enjoy!

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Draco swore up and down on Salzar Slytherins grave that he would never think of, look at or touch a Gryffindor in any way shape or form again, unless it was to cause them bodily or emotional damage..

But he never was very good at keeping promises.

It had been 9 days. 9 days since Draco Malfoy had pushed Hermione Mudblood Granger up against a wall and kissed her. And it was driving him mad. She wouldn't look at him, wouldn't even acknowledge his existence, not that he really acknowledged hers before hand, expect for the occasional quip or insult.

Draco tried forgetting about it, but on the nights he slept, he dreamed of sunshine and tea on his lips. The nights he tossed and turned restlessly were no better, he would guilt himself fitfully awake, telling himself his reaction to her was only because of the stress put on him by the oncoming war.

He tried to ignore her. He fought the annoying voice at the back of his head that was screaming at him.

_Find her, bring her to her knees, make her beg, make the bitch pay for making you feel this way._

Truth be told, Draco wasn't sure what he was feeling. He felt betrayed, by his parents, by all the morals he thought he had ever known. He felt lied to, if pure bloods were so superior, he shouldn't be fighting himself to not catch any glance he could at Granger.

He felt disgusting, because he wanted to see how the light caught in her eyes, he wanted to feel her warm blush heating his skin, he wanted to memorize the way she sounded, the way she tasted. But more than anything, he felt defeated by his own beliefs.

Now he was doing the only thing he knew how to do and was quite good at, to squelch the burning itching crawling over his flesh that just so happened to occur whenever she walked into the same room as him.

Lashing out. He brooded and snapped at everyone that gave him half a reason. His father was less than pleased with his new found attitude. Snape was even less pleased and his Slytherin roommates avoided eye contact at all costs.

At every turn he cursed the filthy mudblood, grumbling under his breath whenever she annoyingly raised her hand in class to answer a question.

Draco wasn't the type to be caught up on anyone, let alone a muggle born. He dropped girls without a second thought or care and now know-it-all Granger left him in the dust, wanting.

It made his temper flare at inopportune times. He snapped irritably at Pansy in Potions class when she wouldn't shut up about cursing all the Gryffindor's after Voldemort took over. She sulked and pouted after him and it put him in an even pissier mood.

It didn't help that one row over was Granger, blatantly pretending he didn't even exist.

He felt ridiculous. He felt rejected. He felt sick.

She should be graveling at his knees, she should be honored that he had even thought about touching her. It was now more than ever that he had an extreme hate towards mudbloods, but it was only one particular mudblood and it wasn't for the reasons he thought it should be.

The only thing that kept him from going absolutely insane was his late night walks around Hogwarts. But even that didn't chase away his thoughts of Granger. Whether it was intentional or not, he would always find himself down that hallway he had seen her in that night.

It had been a particularly agitating day. He hadn't paid attention to any of his lessons, his head was throbbing, he had been uncontrollably antsy, he shifted his weight from foot to foot unable to get comfortable. People were starting to take notice of how restless he had become.

Goyle had even asked if he was ok. Draco brushed off his questions, avoiding giving any answer beyond a grunt or huff. He had to get a grip.

_If I ever got close enough to Granger again I'm going to murder her. _

He had been wandering for hours again. Aimlessly, trying to sort through everything that was going on in his head. He thought of his parents and wanting to make them proud, he thought of his aunt and the bloodshed that was to come.

He thought about serving a lord who believed in all the values that Draco had once held so high in esteem, but were now crumbling down around him. But most of all, he thought about a dark mark that would burn and haunt him for the rest of his life.

Draco looked up into the darkness, breaking free from the concerns that plagued him relentlessly. Here he was again, starring down the corridor to where Hermione Granger had possessed him.

He remembered how his hands had shook the whole way walking back to the Slytherin dorms. Anger bubbled up inside of him, breaching his surface, making his skin flush pink with heat.

Fucking bitch

He turned on his heels to leave, the last thing he wanted was to walk by that spot tonight or have any more of those thoughts parading around his in his head.

But before he could get into the next corridor and escape the view of where he surely had lost his sanity, a mass of brown tumbling curls in a school uniform, accented with the red and gold colors of the house that evoked so much irritation, appeared walking out of the stone wall.

Hermione caught site of that shock of blonde hair in the dim light right away. There was no doubting who it belonged to, even if she couldn't see the long lean body of the Slytherin. She couldn't stop her stomach from dropping or her heart from jumping in her throat.

Draco was caught off guard and stood shocked, but just for a second. He quickly recomposed as one thing was very obvious, Hermione, who was no more than 50 feet in front of him, was taken back even more so than he was.

Well, well. What do we have here.

He couldn't help the smirk that rose across his features as Hermione stood stock still in front of him, like a cornered animal. Except she wasn't cornered. And when that realization hit her she took off running in the other direction.

Draco's smirk grew wider and then he was after her. It didn't take much to make up the ground and catch up to the Gryffindor. His legs were longer, he was faster, stronger, he was an athlete. For those same reasons, it took just as little effort to grab her by the back of her shoulders, spin her around and push her against the wall.

She squirmed against him, but he could see the circles under her eyes were even deeper than before. She was too tired to put up much of a fight. He was towering over her, Draco had her pinned. Again.

His heart was racing. He tightened the grip on her shoulders, his long fingers digging into the cotton material. It was enough to stop her thrashing around. She set her chin and glared at him defiantly. He scoffed.

If looks could kill.

He was ready for the storm to come, he needed to fight with her, for some reason unknown to him, unknown to either of them, for whatever reason they were put in each others lives to bother the hell out of one another.

"I fancy that little trick of yours, Granger. Really, I never knew you could walk through walls."

"Bugger off, Malfoy" She spat at him. Just as ready to fight as he was.

He could feel his smirk curve into a snarl.

"Don't reckon I will, Mudblood. Not until you tell me what it was I just saw." He motioned down the corridor with a toss of his head.

"Go to Hell" She struggled against him again, but it was useless. He pushed back to still her against the wall.

Draco leaned in closer, almost brushing his lips against her ears. She tensed against him, but he could feel the heat coming off of her. He suppressed the shiver of pleasure that was threatening to race down his spine.

"Funny thing is, I don't think you have much room for argument here."

His whisper was hot against her skin. It made her legs feel weak, she wanted to collapse against him. He drew back and she was left feeling the emptiness in the space between them.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her jumping nerves. Draco couldn't help but watch the slow rise and fall of her chest.

I want to taste every inch of your skin…

When she opened her eyes, he broke from his reverie. He was cursing himself again, this girl was driving him mad, he hated her more than anything.

Get your shit together, Draco.

Hermione was glaring at him, her anger and frustration palpable. She clenched her jaw until it ached, weighing her optioned. There was no way to escape, once again she was trapped between Malfoys leaned muscled body and a stone wall.

Draco was meeting her glare, he was never the type to back down from anything.

She huffed as she came to terms with the dilemma she was facing. Fighting off the stone wall might be easier

Draco breath stirred the curls surrounding her face, it creeped over her skin, making her flesh jump to life. He wasn't even touching her, but she could feel her heart racing, pounding against her chest as she silently begged him to.

She pushed the thought into the back of her head. It was only because it had been so long since anyone looked at her the way Malfoy was looking at her now. Like the world hung on the next words that would pass through her lips, that she even thought those things,

Deflecting your emotions because of stress, she psycho-analyzed herself, that is the only explanation.

"Fine."

She squeezed her arms in between them to cross over her chest. She thought it would put enough space between them to allow her to gain her composure. Except her forearms brushed up against his solid chest. She wanted to spread her fingers across the muscle, the feel his heart beat under her palms.

Her lips were slightly parted, Draco wanted to capture them with his own. His skin was buzzing from her grazing against him. He wanted to pull her flush against him, to feel her squirm against every inch of him…

"It's a room."

He scoffed. "Bloody hell, you are brilliant aren't you?" The sarcasm dripped off each word. "I figured it was a room, Granger. But why don't you tell me what kind of room you are sneaking around in past curfew."

Hermione could never remember being so agitated with someone that she scowled at them, but Malfoy had just pushed her to that point.

She managed to shove her way past him, avoiding as much contact as possible and started walking back where they came from. There was no point in trying to get away from the infuriating blonde twat, Hermione knew there was no way she could out run him, Draco knew it too.

So despite her attempt at a fast pace in hope of leaving Malfoy trailing behind, with his long legs and his own quick pace he shortly caught up with her and was beside her matching her stride for stride.

Her face was intense, looking straight ahead as she strained to not glance out the side of her eye at the tall boy next to her. She tried to not notice his sharp jaw line smattered with stubble, or his slender strong arms roped with muscle, or the way his shirt clung to his chest when he walked..

She stopped and turned facing the stone pattern she had become so accustom too the past weeks. She memorized every nook and cranny so she wouldn't forget where she had to go.

This place had become her sanctuary, the only reason she had survived and not gone absolutely mad this long. And now, by force, she was about to show it to the one person in the entire world that she wanted to share it with least.

Hermione pulled her wand from her robes, gave Malfoy a quick 'I resent you more than anything on thisplanet' look and passed her wand over the seemingly normal stone wall and whispered the charm

"Revelio"

At first there was nothing and Draco soon became impatient waiting for something to happen. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and just as he was about to say something rude, as usual, the wall began to shimmer like the heat rising off black top. He caught a glimpse of the wild haired Gryfindors wide, proud of herself, smile before she stepped forward into the wall and disappeared.

She watched as Malfoy stepped through the doorway hidden away from the rest of the Hogwarts inhabitants. He had always seemed so high and mighty to her. Like he was above everyone else, but now, watching him glance around the room, assessing it all, Hermione saw something different in the upright tense set of his shoulders, how his hands hung at his sides and his brows furrowed in unanswered questions.

She realized now that Malfoy looked more like an awkward shy git than a total wanker. Until he opened his mouth of course.

The room was lined with book cases, the gold and silver lettering engraved into the spines of all shades of colors glistened against the glow of the candles scattered and suspended just below the high ceiling. Where there was small spaces between book cases the color of deep burgundy walls were visible.

In the middle of the room was a long wooden table, with a single chair on each side. The backs where tall, carved into a circular emblem in the center was symbol for each house. At the far end, Draco could see the red and gold griffin, with its wings spread, bright against the grainy wood, with a stack of books, parchment and ink in front of it.

Closer to where they stood, there was a large marble table with a couch of dark, aged leather on either side, very much like the ones present in the common rooms of each house.

"What is this?" He asked without giving away any emotion, he almost sounded bored she thought.

"I'm not sure yet. A room someone built a long time ago, that was forgotten. There are so many like it here, hidden around the castle. It presented itself to me one night." She was almost wistful. The room had amazed her when she first discovered it and now it had become more of a home to her then her own bedroom.

She shrugged her shoulders

"I suppose it knew I needed somewhere to hide away from it all for a bit."

"Hmpf" Was all he gave in answer. They stood together for a few long, strained moments. Hermione was debating how to tell him to leave.

Draco gave the room one last appraising look around and turned towards the hidden entrance.

Just as Hermione was beginning to think the whole situation was going perfectly, that Malfoy had no interest in a boring old room full of books and candles, he turned his head towards her just enough so she could make out his beautiful, arrogant, ear to ear grin and said with just a hint of too much amusement in his voice.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, Granger."

He stepped through the door way and disappeared back into the dark, crisp hallways of Hogwarts, leaving Hermione with her mouth gapped and grief stricken. Her stomach flipped as she thought about losing her peaceful retreat, the only place she could get away from all the struggles that had become her everyday life. The only place she found she was able to properly burry herself in her school work or a book without the activities beyond the castles walls intruding into her thoughts.

While Draco went back to his dorm and slept the first peaceful sleep he had in months, plotting a revenge, he wasn't completely sure was deserved, but pushing his guilt to the side to feed the more sadistic persona growing underneath, desperate to focus energies anywhere that did not involve a certain dark lord.

Hermione finally managed to collect her thoughts together, although slowly, and made her way back up to Gryffindor tower. She crawled under her sheets, curled up and silently cried, before forcing her composure. Harshly wiping tears from her cheeks, leaving angry red streaks. She would not let Malfoy destroy the only time she had to herself anymore, she would be stronger than him, as she always was.

Draco had never beat Hermione at anything and she wasn't about to let him start winning now.

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Thank you for the reviews everyone, as always they are appreciated, I love knowing what you guys are thinking and how you think I can make this better for everyone, so keep them coming!


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